Mother Nature has neglected much of northern Illinois with necessary rainfalls resulting in a drying effect for plant life and bodies of water; the Kishwaukee River in particular is 11 inches down this year.

“Discharge for the river is currently 51 cubic feet per second, and the average flow rate is 203 cubic feet per second, the Kishwaukee River is down 152 [cubic feet per second] this year,” said Chief of the Illinois State Water Survey Derek Winstanley.

Rivers are typically lower in the fall months but the Kishwaukee River is far from just being low, it is severely low due to the lack of rainfall beginning in March and worsening into the spring and summer months.

During the summer season the drought caused concern for areas of agriculture, but with continuance of little rainfall bodies of water start to significantly show negative effects.

“When you have a yearly deficit higher than 9-inch rivers, streams or creeks not fed by ground water can run dry,” said NIU Staff Meteorologist Gilbert Sebenste.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Kishwaukee River is not flowing by the Lincoln Highway Bridge. There is some standing water which is bad news for aquatic life that lurks underneath these still waters.

“Any aquatic life which hasn’t moved upstream toward Rockford, where there are water pockets in the river, are dead,” Sebenste said.

The lack of significant rainfall in northern Illinois has resulted in the drying of many area rivers.

The first half of this month has been extremely warm and dry, bringing no relief to the Kishwaukee River and the rest of the month does not look promising to provide the essential rains we need.

“The problem right now is that soil moisture is so low that it can’t get sustained stream flow. It may rain and a little water runs off the surface into the stream but that only lasts a day.” said Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel, “It looks like the river needs about 3 to 5 inches of slow, steady rain to recharge that soil moisture before it can start to get healthy, sustained stream flow.”

The low and still waters have not stopped canoeing on the river.

Karen Larsen, the owner of Larsen’s Landing in Rockford, a canoe renter, said the drought has not detoured people from going out on the river where her shop is located.

She said the waters are a lot lower than usual, but people are still canoeing in it, however parts of the river located in Belvidere have become “uncanoeable.”

“Areas in Belvidere people have not been able to canoe but we have not had any problems here,” Larsen said.